(a) Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a rechargeable battery.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A rechargeable battery can be repeatedly charged and discharged, unlike a primary battery, which is not designed to be recharged. A rechargeable battery having low capacity may be used for small portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and camcorders. Large capacity batteries are widely used as a power source for driving things such as motors of hybrid vehicles, etc.
Nowadays, a high power rechargeable battery using a non-aqueous electrolyte of high energy density has been developed, and the high power rechargeable battery is formed to have a large capacity by coupling a plurality of rechargeable batteries in series to drive a motor of a device, for example, an electric vehicle requiring large amounts of electric power.
Further, a battery module may have a plurality of rechargeable batteries that are coupled in series, the rechargeable batteries being, for example, cylindrically shaped or rectangularly shaped.
It is useful that such a battery module has a large capacity in a limited volume, as a volume of the battery module may impact performance of a device in which the battery module is mounted.
Further, when the battery module is mounted in an electric vehicle, vibration and impact are transferred to the battery module, and thus the battery module should have a structure capable of withstanding vibration and impact.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of embodiments of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.